Portugal, Spain & the Douro on Queen Isabel

Uniworld’s Queen Isabel provides an up-close and unforgettable view of Portugal’s Douro River Valley—a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site—renowned for its dramatic, rugged scenery and pristine waters. Named after Portugal's beloved queen, this boutique 118-passenger vessel is the most unique and stately ship on the Douro, a wonderful place to admire the region’s steeply terraced hillside vineyards and charming wine estates.

Award-winning Uniworld—the world's ONLY authentic boutique cruise lineTM—offers itineraries in spectacular destinations throughout Europe, Russia, and Asia. The company’s European fleet features luxurious ships with an average capacity of 130 guests, the highest staff-to-guest ratio in the river cruise industry, enticing shore excursions, world-class gourmet cuisine, impeccable hospitality, and numerous other all-inclusive benefits.

The Highest Standards in Luxury River ...

Award-winning Uniworld—the world's ONLY authentic boutique cruise lineTM—offers itineraries in spectacular destinations throughout Europe, Russia, and Asia. The company’s European fleet features luxurious ships with an average capacity of 130 guests, the highest staff-to-guest ratio in the river cruise industry, enticing shore excursions, world-class gourmet cuisine, impeccable hospitality, and numerous other all-inclusive benefits.

The Highest Standards in Luxury River Cruising

In 2004, Uniworld was acquired by The Travel Corporation (TTC), a highly successful international travel group founded by Stanley Tollman. TTC has more than 30 top brands, including Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, and Contiki, as well as Red Carnation Hotels, a renowned collection of four- and five-star luxury properties.

TTC has made major investments in Uniworld's ships, crew, and staff, with an eye towards providing guests with all the elements of an unforgettable Six-Star Experience: Expertise; Service; Luxurious Ships, Uniquely Designed; Culinary; Choice; and Truly All-Inclusive. Combining the tour planning and hotel management expertise of TTC’s sister companies with Uniworld’s decades of superior nautical experience has created an entirely new category of luxury river cruising.

The Boutique Experience, Onboard & Onshore

The renowned Red Carnation Hotel Collection was founded in the early 1980s by Beatrice Tollman, who has many years of experience as a chef, cookbook author, and hotelier in South Africa, Europe, and the US. The family-run business now spans four generations—including her husband Stanley and three children—and owns and operates 17 boutique properties in five countries. Mrs. Tollman was named Hotelier of the Year at the European Hospitality Awards in 2012.

Boutique hotels are known for their destination-specific interior décor, gracious service, and carefully selected amenities, all of which provide an intimate, elegant, and relaxed experience. Similarly, Uniworld’s boutique river cruises allow guests to travel from one exciting destination to the next aboard a stylish floating hotel with inviting lounges, cozy libraries, panoramic restaurants, sumptuous cuisine, exquisite antiques and original art, and luxurious riverview staterooms and suites. Meticulous attention to detail is readily apparent on every company-owned ship, including Uniworld’s four stunning Super Ships—the S.S. Antoinette, S.S. Catherine, S.S. Maria Theresa, and the S.S. Joie de Vivre (debuting 2017).

Gracious and Attentive Service

In partnership with its sister company, Red Carnation Hotels, Uniworld takes pride in its long-lasting relationships with guests, for whom there is “No request too large, no detail too small.” Uniworld employs a professionally trained, dedicated, English-speaking staff, so guests never have to worry about communication.